RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC) will present the Brazilian Protocol for Sensory Assessment of Roasted Coffees at the Specialty Coffee Expo, in Chicago, USA, on April 12th, at 1 pm. Camila Arcanjo, Master in Sensory Analysis and Quality Consultant from ABIC, will be responsible for conducting the lecture, whose objective is to export knowledge on the topic and present to participants the differences between coffee styles, the main quality characteristics of the product after roasting and the preferences and understandings of consumers across Brazil, currently the second largest consumer market in the world.
ABIC presents the Brazilian Protocol for Sensory Assessment of Roasted Coffees
Furthermore, the researcher will address the history of the ABIC Certification Program, a pioneer and reference in more than 60 countries, and the updates that the institution has promoted over the last few years, aligning industry demands with field-focused technologies and processes. on the consumer.
The expectation is that listeners understand the construction and organization process that ABIC used to develop the Roasted Coffee Certification Program in one of the largest consumer markets in the world, Brazil. And also, how this process is conducted and how sensory analysis contributes to its success.
“ABIC created a technical group to better understand consumer demand, based on sensory science, neuroscience and market trends. The great challenge of the Protocol is to make it more accessible, as it is a very useful tool that is based on sensory analysis for quality control. Therefore, our focus is on the consumer, so that we can communicate what they need to know at the time of purchase, to choose their favorite coffee among the different styles available”, says Camila Arcanjo.
Artificial intelligence and coffee
One of the great novelties of this new coffee evaluation methodology is the innovative use of Artificial Intelligence to define coffee styles. An application with an exclusive and unprecedented algorithm is used by evaluators to analyze drinks. The notes and intensities of the different attributes are entered into the application and, through AI, the style of the drink is defined.
With this, the methodology makes coffee analysis even more objective and assertive, avoiding any type of bias that the subjectivity of the evaluators may bring to the classification of the drink.
ABIC bets on consumer autonomy
With regard to the evaluation and classification of roasted coffee, it is important to highlight the pioneering spirit of ABIC, which has always valued the safety and quality of the drink.
Through the styles established by the Association, consumers can understand and choose whether they prefer a drink with more or less acidity, sweetness and bitterness, among other attributes. In this way, it is possible to promote knowledge and guarantee the autonomy of connoisseurs in purchasing decisions, selecting the style of drink that best suits them.
During the research, carried out in four capitals, with blind coffee tastings, it was possible to realize that the Brazilian consumer knows coffee and knows which drink he likes most.
Most consumers did not like, for example, the Fora de Tipo drink, the one with the worst quality, which ABIC does not certify because it does not present minimum quality and which needs to come with that name on the packaging.
Consumers demonstrated that they appreciated both canephora (conilon or robusta) coffees, as well as arabica and blends. Many prefer the drink that has a balanced to intense bitterness, currently being the most consumed style of coffee across the country.
The study that will be presented at the fair also provides recommendations on how the coffee roasting and grinding industry should communicate coffee styles on their packaging, as, during the research, consumers revealed the attributes and language that most contribute to their decision. of purchase. Aroma, for example, is the attribute that most influences the choice of coffee by drink lovers in Brazil.
